"Some" Republicans Take A Stand Against Trump

This was originally published 9-6-18 and it was updated slightly 10-22-20 and again on 4-27-22

 

Generally, I've seen presidents with whom I've had some serious disagreements, but I still did not feel that the nation was in imminent danger of falling into the hands of anti-democratic (small "d") forces, but that is no longer true. Trump and true Trumpists are fascists, and Trump is so infatuated with himself, he obviously would love to name himself as Führer, accompanied by frenzied crowds of Trumpists shouting "Heil!" Not everyone who voted for Trump is a fascist, but there is a hardcore element within his support that seems to have turned off their minds and to have submitted to Trump as if he HAD been named Führer. Democracy isn't something that we can leave to take care of itself. Democracy needs US to help tend to it and to help keep it strong. 

We hear about how many Republicans in both houses of Congress, and in other positions in government down to the local level, don't like the behavior and the divisiveness of Donald Trump. Barring such reports by the media, we would not be able to tell, since most are silent. Need we remind these individuals that they have looked into the eyes of evil, and they blinked. These men and women in Congress vote to send, or offer their support to send, American military personnel into harm's way, but they themselves cower before the president (now ex-president) of the United States, whom they refuse to scrutinize, a scrutiny that is one of their Constitutional duties. Like deserters from the field of battle, these people are missing in action by their own choice. With such people in positions of responsibility in 1776, the newspapers of those times would have reported, "These 'patriots,' and we use the term VERY loosely, do not like what the government of King George III is doing, but they give aid and comfort to the king's policies with their silence."

There ARE, however, some Republicans who have made their opposition to Donald Trump known. They have chosen to put their country first, not some wannabe Führer, who, like Hitler decades ago, would prefer individuals to swear an oath of loyalty to HIM, not to the country and to the Constitution. I will name a few, and some names you may know, while other names are probably unknown to you. There are many more, I'm sure, and I regret forgetting some names, and not knowing the names of so many more, but it's important that at least some be recognized for their opposition to Trump and that we ALL work to put serious checks on the power of this repulsive and divisive (now former) president before it is too late. These are some of the Republicans who have been outspoken in their opposition to Donald Trump and to complicit Republicans in Congress: Joe Scarborough (now an independent), Steve Schmidt (now a Democrat), Nicolle Wallace, Elise Jordan, George Will (now an independent), Richard Painter (now a Democrat), Charlie Sykes, Richard Haass, David Jolly, Bret Stephens, Bill Kristol, Ana Navarro, George Conway, Al Cardenas, Rick Wilson, Rick Tyler, Tim Miller, Michael Steele, John Kasich, Tom Ridge, Miles Taylor. They are human beings and Americans first, NOT Republicans. I have disagreed with some, if not many, of their political ideas, and my television has had to cover its ears over some of the words I've shouted at many of these people over time, but that's okay; this is the United States, at least for the present, and we have disagreements and I know Democrats don't have all of the answers, and they too have had to bear the brunt of some "words" I've hurled in their direction at times. We need good, and yes, at times, hard nosed discussions, that's part of democracy. But this "fight to the death" over EVERYTHING, and the deliberate efforts to divide the country for the sake of Donald Trump's ego cannot end well for our country.   

I guess we often do many things in our lives without a perspective, then one day, we look back and see things in the rear view mirror and we see where we wish we had done things differently. So I believe it has been with some of these people I've mentioned and some of the decisions they have made in the past. I'm NOT saying they will give up on long held political beliefs, but for a year or more, those mentioned have taken definite stands against Donald Trump and against the complicity and enabling by their fellow Republicans of Trump and his "sickophants"... ah, sycophants. No matter what disagreements I've had with the people I've listed, I am proud of them for speaking out and trying to bring the GOP to its senses. They have, at times, spoken brutally honest words in their assessment of Republican colleagues, but that's what is needed, because this is not a matter to be taken lightly, as the very fiber of American democracy is under attack by this criminal and some of those from his former regime. 

 

This emblem is in the public domain from Wikipedia                                                                                          

WORD HISTORY:
Cringe-This word is closely related to "crinkle," and it goes back to Indo European "ger," which had the notion of, "to turn, to wind (long 'i')." This gave Old Germanic "grenkanan/krenganan," with the meaning, "to bend, to yield, to give way;" thus also figuratively, "to fall in battle." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cringan," with the same meanings. This then became "crengen," then, "crinchen," before the modern version. By the 1500s the meaning had evolved to "bend away in fear, embarrassment or from something unpleasant." There are quite a number of relatives of "cringe" in the other Germanic languages, some of which are: its German relative is now the antiquated "Kring," which means, "ring, circle," from the notion of bending something into a ring shape. It has been replaced in modern times with "Kringel," actually corresponding to English "crinkle," but meaning, "small ring, curl." Low German Saxon has "Kring" (circle, ring) and "Kringel" (ring-shaped baked good, pretzel), Dutch has "kring" (circle, orb), West Frisian has "kringe" (verb, meaning, to pinch, to squeeze, to press; all from the notion of "to bend, to yield), Old Norse had "kringr" (circle, ring).

2018, Perhaps The Most Important Election EVER

Signs of a developing trend leading to the crucial midterm election on November 6 have been in abundance in early special elections. Americans almost always seem to reprimand the party holding the White House in elections held at the halfway mark of a president's term. (DAMN! It just dawned on me, that must be why they call them the "midterm elections." See, just give me a few decades and I can figure it out.) It doesn't always seem to mean that Americans dislike the president in office at the time, but all presidents step on some toes, and those with smarting toes are highly motivated to limp to the polls to vote, often leading their own party to turn out in large enough numbers to give anything from a nudge to an outright smack upside the head to the occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, better known as the White House. There have been numerous special elections since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, and while these elections have produced a number of Democratic wins, including some stunning wins, even the Democratic losses have shown a major narrowing of the margins of Republican victories, compared to recent historical Republican margins in those regions. 

Thoughtful change often wins in the end, but it can take time and the question is, can American institutions and American ideals hold on long enough to win against a man who longs to destroy American democracy so that he can become the undisputed Führer of the United States? Republicans in Congress have knowingly rolled over for this strident, divisive and highly insecure president. Have we forgotten the longstanding question about Hitler and Germans? How could an educated and cultured people follow such a self centered and maniacal man like Hitler, a man with obvious emotional problems? We need not ask that question any longer, for the answer is right before our eyes in the United States of America, where a bigoted, resentful and spiteful old bastard with a bad hairdo has risen to lead this country (hey, Hitler had a bad hairdo too). The GOP has long cultivated the uneasiness of some white Americans about the attempts of black Americans, as well as other American minorities, like Latinos, women (who are actually a majority) and gays, to gain equality and fairness in our society. The thing is, in my lifetime, I have heard many divisive statements by American politicians, including, but not limited to, George Wallace* in the 1960s and 1970s, and David Duke** in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, but I've never heard a president of the United States use so much divisive rhetoric to further his own cause and to satisfy his own ego, as one Donald Trump, the unity of the country be damned!      

This upcoming election is likely to be a fight to the death. Are Democrats, independents and anti Trump Republicans ready? Trump and the complicit and enabling Republicans will do anything and everything to minimize their losses and hold onto their control of Congress. The Koch brothers, the Mercers and all of the other "take me back to a previous century" people will spend unprecedented amounts to further Republican control of government. They will say it is to further the Republican Party, but that party is now the party of Donald Trump, which they will NOT tell you. Will the election prove to be the beginning of Trump's political demise, or will he and Republicans emerge stronger than ever, and likely be able to suppress the rights of Americans to protest and to stop the media from reporting critical news articles about them? Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China are Trump heroes, and they are dictators. We don't need to dig up Einstein to connect the dots for us to understand where Trump stands on democracy. This is all in front us, not hidden somewhere in the shadows of the news. Don't be in denial. Don't stick your head in the sand. We can't take our eyes off of them for one second. The young people of this country have stirred and have been springing into action. They can help to lead us through the potentially destructive nightmare of Trumpian fascism.

For the last couple of centuries, people around the world have looked to the United States as a beacon of hope. Some people have been inspired by the U.S. to pursue freedoms within their own respective countries, while others have left their homelands bound for American shores. We're seeing the light of that beacon flickering like a kerosene lamp running low on fuel. The question is, will WE choose to refill the lamp and keep this beacon of hope shining, or will we let the lamp go dry and extinguish its light, letting the path of hope go dark? We now have a man in office who praises dictators and judges people not as individuals, but by their ethnic, racial or religious backgrounds. That's what Führers do.


* George Wallace was the governor of Alabama in the 1960s, a time when desegregation of schools and public facilities was ongoing. For more on the issue of desegregation and racial politics, here are  two links: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-former-confederacy-modern-american_8.html 

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-former-confederacy-modern-american_15.html 

** David Duke is a long time member, and a former leader, of the "Ku Klux Klan," often known by its initials, "KKK," a racist and overall hate filled group dating to the post Civil War era in the American South. Duke was born in Oklahoma, but he has spent much of his life in Louisiana. As most Southerners of earlier times, Duke was a Democrat, and he sought office as such, but as Louisiana and the South, in general, moved more to the Republican Party, Duke changed to that party in the late 1980s. Duke became known for his anti Black American and anti Jewish views. 

WORD HISTORY:
Beacon-This word for "a light positioned on some high place to serve as a guide or warning, often for ships, but not exclusively so," goes back to Indo European "bhah," which had the notion, "to shine, to be bright, to appear as bright." This provided the later basis for West Germanic "bauknan" (English is West Germanic), meaning, "signal light." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "beacen/becn," meaning, "sign, signal." This then became "beken," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German "Bake" (pronounced as if, "bahkeh") meaning, "traffic sign, railway signal," originally used in reference to "a fire set on a geographically high point or in a tower to provide sea navigation);" Low German Saxon "Baak" (sign or signal for ships), West Frisian "beaken" ("buoy"), Dutch "baken" ("beacon"). "Apparently," long ago, Old Norse, from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, borrowed the word from Frisian as, "bákn," which meant, "signal, signal fire."^ This was passed down to the modern North Germanic languages as: Icelandic "bákn," which now means, "large stone column;" that is, "a column showing direction."

^ Centuries ago, the Frisian word was "baken/beken," and meant "signal or signal fire." Later, Frisian split into dialects, giving West Frisian the altered spelling and the narrowed meaning to the modern "buoy." Researching North Frisian is very hard, but it "seems" to have "beken," but I can't confirm that from multiple sources. North Frisian is spoken in the German region of North Frisia, which also includes a number of North Sea islands, called the North Frisian Islands (someone stayed awake late to come up with that name). Remember too, while North Frisian is the spoken regional language, standard German is taught to everyone in school.   

"Real Americans" Are NOT Nazis

Updated somewhat 10-8-20

We hear or see statements claiming, "Real Americans ...," and then comes an action or thought that the person seems to believe are "un-American." What is a "real American?" I can't define it, but I can tell you, it indeed isn't a Nazi, or any fascist for that matter, as many thousands of American soldiers fought and died to help defeat the Nazi Nutcase In Chief, Adolf Hitler, and his strutting Fascist ally, Benito Mussolini, as well as a string of other fascist, or right wing authoritarian and militarist regimes also allied to the Nutty Nazi, most notably, in Japan. Many thousands of other Americans were wounded, and none came home without some physical or mental scar from having fought to help roll back fascism.

More than 400,000 Americans died during World War Two, and more than 600,000 were wounded.   

We aren't a perfect country, and we never have been. "Some" Americans are so insecure, they can't ever admit that there are or were injustices and flaws in the nation from its very birth. The American Civil War showed the terrible divide in just such attitudes over the major injustice of slavery in the United States, as the northern states and the southern states didn't just decide to have a war out of boredom. That war cost somewhere between 600,000 and 750,000 military deaths, and an unknown number of civilian deaths, most which would have been in the Confederacy. No, the United States isn't perfect, but Americans have worked, and continue to work, to correct our flaws, no matter how painful it may be. Fascists, while trying to portray themselves as strong, only show themselves as weak, as they can't even admit to problems in the nation, let alone join with others to fix those problems. Such weakness and insecurity brought about Hitler's Gestapo and Mussolini's OVRA, both organizations of secret police used to subdue critics.* The United States now has a president who wants to use the Justice Department and that department's FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to go after his critics and political opponents. Will Americans let this happen? Did so many Americans die to let fascism "trump" us? (Pun intended!) No..... "real Americans" are not Nazis! FIGHT FASCISM! VOTE to defeat Trump AND his Republican accomplices who have sat by and watched this nearly four year anti-democracy spectacle take place.

 * "Gestapo" was an abbreviation for "Geheime Staatspolizei" (Secret State Police), and "OVRA" was an abbreviation for "Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'Antifascismo" (Organization for Vigilance and the Repression of Anti Fascism).   

WORD HISTORY: 

Err-This word goes back to Indo European "ers/ars," which had the notion, "move around, wander about." This gave Latin the verb, "errare," meaning, "to wander around;" thus also, "to lose one's way;" thus also the figurative, "to make a mistake, to err." This was passed to Latin-based Old French as "errer," with the same meanings, and this was borrowed into English in the very early 1300s as "erren," meaning, "to wander off, to stray, to make a mistake (thus also, "to commit a sin"). In those times, many English infinitive verbs were formed with an ending of "en," which didn't require "to" to be added to the infinitive, but English verb conjugations later changed, and this then produced infinitive forms like, "to err," "to go," "to say," as the "-en" was dropped. Close relative German still uses "-en" to form infinitive forms (to match the above English forms: "irren," "gehen," "sagen"). "Err" is related through Indo European to former English words, "ierre," a noun meaning, "wrath" (from the idea of "going astray from normal"), and an adjective of that same spelling meaning, "confused, gone astray, wrathful," and the verb, "iersian," meaning, "to be angry," but also, "to provoke to anger." German "irren," mentioned above, is a close relative through Germanic, and there are more relatives in other Germanic languages.   

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington & American Ideals

This 1939 film was produced and directed by Frank Capra, who had been born in Italy, but came to the United States as a kid. Capra often liked to show average people standing up against crooked and power grabbing business people. But he also showed how taking a stand against ruthless and powerful interests can be tough and downright dangerous, and that doing the right thing can be painful. 

In "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," one of a state's U.S. Senators dies, just as an important bill is about to be voted upon in Congress. Jim Taylor, played by Edward Arnold, is the state's major businessman and the controller of a political machine there. He agrees to the appointment of Jefferson, "Jeff," Smith, played by Jimmy Stewart, a patriotic adult leader of a group for boys, called the Boy Rangers. Smith is filled with idealism about the United States and is a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. Taylor wants the state's other senator, Joseph Paine, played by Claude Rains, to tell the young appointee how to vote, especially on the pending legislation, as there is a special clause in one section about a dam that will financially benefit Taylor tremendously. Years before, Paine was the best friend of Smith's father, and together they fought injustices, often losing, and earning for themselves the title, "Twin Champions of Lost Causes." Jeff's father, a publisher of a small newspaper, was shot in the back during a campaign he undertook for a miner against a mining syndicate. Paine, a lawyer, lost much of his idealism after his friend's murder and buckled under to the pressure and chose to support Jim Taylor, who not only got Paine elected to the Senate, but got him reelected a couple of times. Although Paine became a well respected senator, most people didn't know he was, and is, so beholden to Taylor for his position.

Jeff Smith is enthralled by the sights when he arrives in Washington, and he wanders off to visit various historical sights, including the Lincoln Memorial. He finally turns up at his office, where he meets his aide "Saunders," played by Jean Arthur. She has been around Washington for some time, making her cynical and fed up with the games played and with the corruption, so she wants to leave, but after she meets Jeff, she sees that he is a decent man who will need help to learn the ways of the Washington political establishment. Senator Paine and Jeff reminisce about Jeff's father, which hits home to Paine's former search to do right, even for lost causes. The new senator tells Paine he wants "to study the bills" to be voted on, which takes Paine back a bit, fearful that Smith will learn about the special section on the dam in their state. Paine tells Jeff he will instruct him on how to vote. He also tells Jeff to write and introduce a bill of his own on a new boys' camp in their state, which gives Smith a lot of excitement. He wants the government to put up the money for the camp, and then be repaid from contributions by kids from all over the country.

Saunders begins the process of helping Jeff draft his new bill, but when Smith tells her the new boys' camp will be around Willett Creek (often pronounced colloquially as if, "crick"), Saunders is startled, as she is already aware of the dam to be going there (she had worked for the recently deceased senator, who also was under Taylor's thumb). She doesn't tell Jeff, but she gets a reporter friend of hers, "Diz," played by Thomas Mitchell, to show up for the next day's session in the Senate, when Smith will read his bill, including its location on the land around Willett Creek. She tells Diz to keep his eyes on Senator Paine and on one of Taylor's henchmen, who is seated in the visitor's gallery. Sure enough, when Smith utters the words "Willett Creek," Paine immediately leaves the Senate floor and the other man leaves the gallery. The savvy Saunders knew exactly what she was talking about (everyone calls her by her last name, "Saunders," but her first name is "Clarissa"), and she finally tells Jeff about Taylor and about the dam being a crooked deal for Taylor to profit. When Smith goes to Senator Paine and tells him, the senator advises Jeff him not to interfere, as there are powerful interests involved.

Taylor flies to Washington and meets Jeff Smith. The ruthless, greedy businessman tells the young senator he wants him to cooperate, and in return, he will make sure he is a senator for as long as he wishes. The honest and idealistic Smith is unimpressed, and thus he begins a battle against the tremendous power of Jim Taylor. Jeff goes to Senator Paine and tells him what Taylor has said, but the next day, when Smith rises to tell the Senate about the crooked deal included in the bill, Senator Paine asks Smith if he will yield the floor, which he immediately does, because it is Senator Paine asking. Now the new senator begins to learn what he is up against, as Paine tells the Senate he has information that the land for Smith's boys' camp is owned by Smith, who will benefit greatly from the camp going there; thus, making it look as if Jeff is taking money from kids for his own benefit, as kids are already sending contributions to pay for the camp. Unknown to Jeff and to the Senate, Taylor has had the land records changed to show Smith as the owner. With the respected Senator Paine now speaking out against Smith, the senators want to expel Smith from the Senate. Taylor, through Paine, has witnesses appear before a special Senate committee and testify against Smith. Jeff is so distraught by the lies and forged documents, he leaves the hearing and goes to the Lincoln Memorial. He feels betrayed and stupid at allowing himself to be set up, and for believing in American ideals, but the once cynical Saunders shows up, figuring he will be at the memorial, and she gives him a good pep talk, telling him that his hero, Mr. Lincoln, had his Taylors and Paines to contend with too, and that he would want Jeff to "root out the Taylors into the open." With his spirit restored, the two devise a strategy.

In this battle, Jeff is helped along by Saunders, who sees someone she likes for his honesty and decency, and also a man to whom she has taken a fancy. Senator Paine is stunned the next day when Smith calls out "HERE," in answer to the roll call. Saunders sits with Diz in the Senate gallery and periodically gives signals to Jeff to help him along with the Senate rules. When the Senate is about to vote on his expulsion, she signals to Jeff, and he rises to be recognized by the chair (Senate president), when another senator rises at the same time to try to prevent Smith from being heard at all. After some comments back and forth, and a cry from the gallery by Saunders to, "Let him speak," the President of the Senate,* played by Harry Carey (Sr.), recognizes Senator Smith, and we're off to a filibuster.** Smith tells the senators that he will speak to the people of his state from the floor of the Senate and he proceeds to tell them about Taylor and his political machine, and how he saw three congressmen in Taylor's hotel suite when Taylor met with him. Senator Paine is so respected, the other senators still believe Smith is the bad guy. The first dent in the Taylor/Paine armor comes when Paine rises and accuses Smith of tying him to corruption. Smith speaks up and says he had said no such thing; that he never said Paine was in Taylor's room, but inadvertently, Paine blurts out, "I was in that room." This brings gasps from many, but Paine quickly tries to explain it away by saying what an honorable man Taylor is and that he met with him simply to receive the evidence against Smith from him. As the situation goes on, Paine has pangs of conscience, but he can't bring himself to go against Taylor, as he is in so deep with him, something he is reminded of by Taylor, who tells him that if anybody starts believing Smith, "you (Paine) just as well blow your brains out." Taylor has his men back in his home state make sure all of the newspapers and radio stations (no television back then) speak out against Smith and not publish or report anything Smith is saying in Washington. He also has them send telegrams condemning Smith. When Diz learns what is happening, he tells Saunders, who calls Jeff's mother and has her and the Boy Rangers use the club's little printing press to print leaflets telling the truth. Taylor's men confiscate the leaflets, often smacking around some of the boys in the process. Taylor's men even use vehicles to run over and destroy the kids' wagons used to distribute the leaflets.

Meanwhile, Smith talks for hours, reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Saunders receives a call from Jeff's mother telling her how boys have been hurt by Taylor's men all over Jeff's hometown. Inside the Senate, the final showdown is near, as Paine has baskets full of anti-Smith telegrams brought into the Senate chamber. Jeff glances at several telegrams, and disheartened, he looks at the Senate president, who gives him a smile, prompting a slight smile from Jeff in return. Worn out and with a weakened voice, Jeff says, "I guess this is just another lost cause... You people don't know about lost causes, Mr. Paine does. And he fought for them once." He stands right before Paine as he continues to remind Paine of his younger days, when, as a young lawyer, he, and Jeff's father, took on rich and powerful interests to help those with little or no money. With the whole Senate watching and listening, Jeff tells them they think he's licked, but that he plans to continue the filibuster until someone listens to him, but he collapses. Paine dashes from the Senate floor. As some members try to revive Smith, gunshots are heard, with the scene then shifting to a room outside the Senate chamber, where a senator or two are trying to stop Paine from shooting himself. He screams that he's the one the Senate needs to expel, that he's not fit for office or fit to live. Paine charges out onto the Senate floor screaming, "Every word that boy said is true, expel me, not him!" The audience cheers and the President of the Senate leans back in his chair and smiles.

* By the Constitution, the President of the U.S. Senate is the Vice President of the United States. For times when the vice president is not present, the Senators will have chosen a "temporary president" (actually in the Constitution in the Latin expression, "pro tempore;" that is, "for temporary time," or, "for the time being"). This temporary president is an actual member of the Senate and can, therefore, vote on any and all matters before the Senate. The vice president is NOT a senator and can only vote if there is a tie. While the film never makes it clear, "apparently" the role played by Harry Carey is that of the Vice President of the United States.

** A "filibuster" is "a deliberate, but proper, delay of proceedings in a legislative body, often to prevent a vote on some issue, and/or to gain time to make a case on the issue." In the U.S. it is most commonly associated with the U.S. Senate. While the movie depicts only Senator Smith as launching the filibuster, more than one person can participate, and this gives the filibuster more chance to continue, as each participant can pass the floor on to another participant; thus, each gets a rest period. During a filibuster, participants may talk about matters TOTALLY beyond the subject at hand in the legislation. 

Photo is of the 2008 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD 

WORD HISTORY:
Creed-This word, distantly related to "cardiac" (a word borrowed by English from French, which had it from Latin, which had borrowed it from Greek) and "credit" (a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English from French), but also, "heart" (an original English word of Germanic derivation), goes back to Indo European "kerddeh," which meant, "to put into the heart;" thus, "to believe," as the heart was judged by many of our ancient ancestors as the center of emotion and belief (root of "kerd" being the ancestor of "heart, credit and cardiac," and several more words). This gave Latin "credere," meaning, "to believe," the first person singular of which, "credo," came to be used as a noun (beside the verb form) to mean, "religious belief," initially, "Christian belief, set of Christian beliefs." This was borrowed into Old English as "creda," with the same meaning. This then became "crede," before the modern version, and the meaning broadened beyond religious beliefs. 

Will Responsible Republicans Admit Mistake?

This was first published in February 2013, but as the forces of greed are already running ads to "reform" the tax code, it is very appropriate, since to them, "tax reform" means, "give us tax cuts, don't you know how tough it is to get by on a few billion? Life is tough."

In the late 1930s, film producer/director Frank Capra, who was born in Sicily, but came to the United States as a child, did a picture called "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington." Americans need to sit down and watch this picture again, and again, to remind us of what this country has tried to stand for in its relatively short lifespan, compared to the rest of the world. We aren't perfect, maybe we've been far from it, but we haven't let our imperfections stymie our desires to correct flaws, or to file down our rough edges. Even in the last thirty plus years of conservative influence, the country has at times chosen to go in the opposite direction of those who would keep us divided and keep us from moving forward. But this age, which began with "so called conservatism,"* has not "pro"gressed, but "re"gressed to the point where the wealthy and large business interests have come to dominate; never satisfied to make millions, but rather to pile millions upon millions, upon millions, upon billions, with many showing not the slightest concern for their fellow, far less well off, citizens, and by demanding tax cuts and taxpayer money as an "entitlement" for their being rich and powerful. Whether this "era of nonsense, sold as sense," is coming to an end remains to be seen, as the ruthless interests still have many cards up their sleeves, cards with lots of $$$ signs, and they won't hesitate for one moment to play those cards.

For those who have seen "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" and may have forgotten the gist of the picture, and for those who've never seen the film, Capra put together a story of a young idealistic average citizen, "Jeff Smith," who is tapped to replace a senator who has just died. The young man, played by James "Jimmy" Stewart, is so overwhelmed by his choice to serve his country and to help others, he is unaware of really WHY he was chosen. A wealthy and powerful businessman in his state, played by Edward Arnold, has gotten a seemingly benign clause about a land deal inserted into an important relief bill before the Senate. The land will prove to bring in a bundle for the greedy businessman, and the feeling is, Smith will never notice what is going on. The actual bill is important to the nation, with the potential to provide help to millions of Americans (this was in the Depression era), but so much for patriotism, money is the ONLY important thing to the ruthless businessman and his bought and paid for cronies. Claude Rains plays the state's senior senator, a well respected and progressive man, but who has come under the thumb of the ruthless businessman. The new Senator Smith takes the floor to offer his first bill for a boys' camp. Little does he know, the proposed camp is right smack dab on the land included in the businessman's deal. The reaction is swift and ruthless, as the businessman and his cronies try to stymie the young senator, who finds out just what has been going on. Efforts to discredit the senator and to make him a laughing stock appear to work, until the young man, abandoned by much of the Senate, but supported by his aide, played by Jean Arthur (whom he loves), decides to take to the floor himself in an effort to get the attention of his home state and of the nation. He holds the floor for hours and some senators start to wonder whether such a determined man would stage such a grueling effort without having some truth to his claims.

Little does the young senator know, in his home state, the ruthless businessman has closed off contact with Washington and has gotten the newspapers and radio stations he owns (and those under his thumb) to condemn the young senator. A youth organization tries to spread the truth to help Senator Smith by delivering leaflets to the people, but the businessman's thugs overturn their wagons and bicycles and destroy the leaflets, injuring some of the kids. Further, the businessman has his cronies send thousands of telegrams to the Capitol Building telling the senator to stop and let the bill be passed by the Senate. The young man becomes despondent, but then bounces back and lectures the other senator from his state on how he once had been an idealist who fought for what was good for America, not what was good for wealthy interests. Totally worn out, the young senator collapses. The senior senator rushes to the back offices and tries to shoot himself, but is stopped by others. He dashes to the floor of the Senate screaming that the young senator has been telling the truth and that he himself has been corrupt as Senator Smith had said all along. In the end, he takes responsibility in an effort to correct a terrible wrong.

My question is, which Republicans nowadays will now stand up and admit to their terrible mistakes of letting a bunch of nutcases and fascists take over a segment of their party? Just like with the wealthy, ruthless businessman in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," once you let these kinds of people in and they get a foothold, getting them out is painful and dangerous. You may lose some elections if you root out these nutcases and fascists, but it may make you stronger in the future. I'm not saying you should totally agree with Democrats, hell, Democrats don't always agree with one another, and we need competing ideas, but this nonsense of opposing just about EVERYTHING just to oppose, or often to help wealthy interests, it's not acceptable and I believe many Republicans see this too, but they may be afraid to speak out, as the roughneck thugs you have let in to your party are a threat to them, but also to the nation. Capra's movie was about American patriotism and ideals. Not patriotism manufactured to keep a political ideology in power, but a patriotism that came with the founding of this nation, one of inclusion, not exclusion, although we've struggled with that idea from the very beginning, but no one can say we haven't tried to right many a wrong, a struggle we continue with to this very day. Republicans were once the party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, and in Capra's film, the young senator goes to the Lincoln Memorial to renew and steady his belief in the ideals of America. Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt had ideals that were based upon the patriotism that came with the founding of this country. It's time Republicans once again found that same patriotism. Stand up and be counted!   

* I say "so called conservatism," because any philosophy which renounces deficits and deficit spending, only to use "deficits and deficit spending" as policy, is anything but conservative. No, this was the beginning of an outright "reactionary" period, using "liberal" economic policies, combined with an ever increasing appeal to patriotism, to remain in power, and all the while sapping the strength of the nation's middle class and poor in a gigantic transfer of wealth to already wealthy interests.
   
WORD HISTORY:
Responsible-The ancient origins of this compound word are uncertain, so I am going to go backward in this history. English borrowed the word from French "responsible" in the latter part of the 1500s, which had been derived from Latin "responsus," the participle form of "respondere," which meant "to respond, to answer to." This came from the Latin prefix "re," a common form in Latin derived words, usually with some context of "go back, return, repeat," but why Latin, an Italic language, has this prefix is unclear. The second part is from Latin "spondere," which was derived from Latin "spondeo," which meant "to promise or to pledge, to assume responsibility for." The trail after this is more than a little murky.